Former Coach: Palhares Injured Sparring Partners “Often”

Chances are that if Rousimar Palhares had not been disciplined in the past for unsportsmanlike conduct, the feared submission artist would still be on the UFC roster, following his controversial heel hook at UFC Fight Night 29. The reality is, of course, that Palhares was suspended in 2010 for not immediately releasing the heel hook he used to defeat Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111. The 33 year-old has also been accused of doing the same in grappling competitions as well.

Now, former UFC champion and Brazilian Top Team coach Murilo Bustamante is alleging that Palhares was responsible for injuring sparring partners during his time at the renowned gym. Bustamante informed Fighters Only Magazine that although he doesn’t normally disclose what happens behind BTT’s doors, because Palhares has been criticizing the team, he’s come forth with the following:

“I can say this – nobody ever defended him as much as I did every time he made a mistake like this. In the beginning I thought it was because he was naive or had too much nervous energy during the fights.

“But then he caused a lot of incidents inside my academy during his camps and I changed my mind.

“I got tired of seeing how he hurts people so often when he is sparring, especially when he has a fight coming up. We used to argue every time it happened, so we argued a lot.”

The 47 year-old Bustamante also claims that after the actions of Palhares didn’t change, he brought in a psychologist to work with the fighter. Bustamante said, however, that “it didn’t work.” Palhares currently trains with Team Nogueira.

Alex Davis, who manages Palhares, recently admitted that the fighter used to “hurt people in training” but added that “Toquinho” is much more “controlled now.” Palhares has also said that he never intends to hurt any fighter. Clearly the UFC decided that the repeat offender needed to be reprimanded severely, however, and Palhares has been banned.